


Written in Light

by KaoriKoriryu



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, anyway heres a fic about ocs :v, so im HOPING it makes sense when its all finished, the violence warning is for battle scenes and stuff, this is all first-draft kinda stuff with me just glancing at it afterward
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-29
Updated: 2016-07-10
Packaged: 2018-07-18 22:38:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7333423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaoriKoriryu/pseuds/KaoriKoriryu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>War, famine, pestilence, and death have taken the toll on the clans, and only a pawful of weak cats remain when a pair of rogues stumble upon them. Moons after Bramblestar and the three, these clans have suffered greatly, and their only hope of survival is to allow themselves to rely on others, but it's a lot harder than it seems when everything seems to be working against them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

In the forest, all was still. No breeze blew that day, and only the faintest of birdsong flowed through the canopy of sun-dappled leaves. Near the inner edge of the forest, the trees gave way to a pebbled shore, where a clear lake lapped at the stones and drew them close. Around the lake were four different terrains, including the forest itself.

Suddenly, a rush of activity shook the outer edge of the forest. A rabbit's paws thudded heavily against the ground as it raced into the cover from the barren hills outside of the woods, its paws digging into the dirt and pushing back to go as fast as it could. Its eyes were wild with terror, and its erratic movement caused the undergrowth to tremor as it passed by. Following shortly after the rabbit came a second set of paws, these attached to a slender feline body, claws grasping the earth as each touched the ground for only a moment. The cat's heartbeat pounded in their ears, that and their breath the only thing they could hear as they gave chase.

They followed after the rabbit for many fox-lengths into the territory, getting closer by minute increments with each drop and rise of their paws. After many moments of chasing the rabbit and feeling their muscles scream in protest, their pelt lashed by the surrounding branches and causing birds to squawk and fly away in their wake, they were finally close enough. They leapt onto their prey, quickly slicing open its neck with their claws. The rabbit gave a dying quiver, its body thrashing weakly under the cat, until it finally lay still. The cat let out a satisfied purr, sitting back to clean their claws of dirt and blood.

"Moon!"

Blinking their green eyes, the white cat turned to look at the other that had called their name. The black cat trotting towards them was tense, his amber eyes narrowed and his broad shoulders hunched protectively. His head was low, ears flattened against it as his eyes darted this way and that. "What in Mother's name are you doing thinking, chasing prey onto this territory?! You know the stories about this place! We'll be eaten alive, Moon!"

Moon grinned, rolling their eyes at the way the older cat was practically shivering in his fur. "Those are just kits' tales, Night, and you and I both know it. You know that no one has seen any groups of cats around here for moons! They're just saying that because they either want to keep all of the prey here to themselves or they're scared for no reason." They picked up the rabbit and padded to Night's side to nudge his shoulder teasingly, pairing it with a widened grin around their prey.

"Whatever," Night sighed after a moment, his ears flattening further to his head. His eyes once again darted around the dimly-lit forest, knowing that, according to what they'd been told when they were younger, they shouldn't be here. "I think that those wild cats are real. My mother wouldn't lie to me, you know - what is it?" He stopped in the middle of his sentence, lowering his voice as Moon flicked their stub of a tail in warning, their ears pricking to swivel in all directions. They moved slowly to put their rabbit down, then lifted their head back up with their jaws parted wide, drinking in the scents around them. "What?" Night asked again, shifting anxiously on his paws.

"Do you smell that?" Moon finally murmured in place of a proper reply, appearing for the first time since entering the forest as though they were perturbed as well.

Night began to knead his claws into the ground, frowning deeply. He opened his mouth as well, lifting it to the nonexistent breeze, but shook his head after a moment. "Moon, I don't-"

"Shhh!" the white cat hissed, cutting Night off. "Bring the rabbit and follow me."

The black tom seemed to be irritated at being bossed around, but didn't argue, picking up the rabbit and trailing after Moon, uncertainty in every pawstep as he realized they were going deeper into the forest. They kept their jaws slightly parted as they continued forward, weaving their way through and around brambles, and Night couldn't help but wonder if they'd perhaps come into the forest before at the way they seemed to know just where to rest their paws. So lost was he in anxious thought that he almost didn't notice when Moon stopped. "Here," they murmured, their eyes fixed on a place ahead.

Night's heart seemed to leap into his throat, beating wildly, while his stomach seemed to be as heavy and cold as stone. Directly ahead of them there was a slope, brambles discreetly flattened by moons and moons of pawsteps. From any other angle, Night wouldn't have noticed it, would've passed right by the tunnel made in the brush. Somehow, though, Moon had found it, and the stone of Night's belly seemed to grow heavier as he scented many cats. There seemed to be many stale scents, while only a few were fresher, and an odd, clear scent seemed to mingle with them, like breeze and open sky.

Putting the rabbit down, Night said tentatively, "Maybe we should go back."

Moon didn't seem to hear him. They began to walk right down the slope, purpose in their stride. Night hesitated a long moment before picking up the rabbit once again, trotting after them just as their flanks disappeared in the bramble tunnel.

"We're being watched," Moon whispered as soon as Night joined them on the other side of the tunnel. Night's pelt prickled, and he turned his gaze to the hollow that they'd found themselves in. Here the scent of other cats was even stronger than it was on the path. "We're not here to hurt anyone!" Night nearly jumped out of his fur as Moon raised their voice to speak to whoever was apparently watching them. "I just scented something - something told me to follow it - but I promise you that we won't hurt you!"

There was a long silence, and Night decided to forget the rabbit, setting it aside. His pelt was crawling, and he wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. "Moon, I really don't think we should-" He stopped as cats began to appear from bushes and cracks in the rock, all of them looking gaunt and sickly, thin fur stretching over their flanks.

"Who are you?" asked one of the cats suspiciously, narrowing her eyes at them. She was among the thinnest, Night noted, every rib seeming to stick out starkly against her pelt, which would've been pretty were she healthy, but that was something that Night could tell that these cats were not. Even so, many of them had their claws drawn, ready to disregard their frail states in order to defend their home if that was what it came to.

Moon's answer came and was as unexpected to Night as it was to the other cats if their expressions were anything to go by. "My name is Moon, and this is my friend, Night. Are you all okay? Is there anything we can do to help?"

"I never agreed to help any wild cats, Moon," Night whispered to them in alarm, but they still didn't seem to be listening to him. At the same time, many protests arose from the group of cats.

"How can we trust outsiders?"

"Do you think us weak?"

"You shouldn't even be within our borders!"

A sudden and instantaneous hush fell over the group as they parted, allowing a dappled brown tortoiseshell cat to come forward. She looked over Moon and Night, her gaze silently critical. Night felt as though she was going to reach out at any moment to claw the furs off of his pelt. Finally she turned to the rest of her group. "We need more fit warriors while you all recover. We must exercise some amount of caution towards how much you all exert yourselves in your current conditions. They can at least help us for a little while." She then turned back to Moon and Night, eyeing them carefully. "You can stay. If you don't mind, that rabbit would make a fine meal for a few of these cats."

"Who are you all?" Moon called out as she began to walk back towards the crevice from which she'd appeared.

Night found himself listening with just as much anticipation as Moon as they leaned towards the she-cat. She stopped with her back turned to them, then slowly turned back to the two, pausing before speaking again. "Who are we?" She once again paused, staring at the two of them, and Night thought she wouldn't answer, but she opened her jaws once more before returning to her den. "We are all that remains of the once-great clans of this forest."


	2. Chapter 2

"That's the training hollow," Marshface said as they passed by the clearing, flicking his tail towards it. "It's where apprentices learn to hunt and defend their territory. At least, that's where they learn on this part of the lake." There was something reserved about the way Marshface spoke, Moon noted, and in fact in the way the rest of the cats here spoke, that gave off a sense of tiredness and gloom.

Nevertheless, they listened raptly to Marshface's words, holding on to every syllable. They'd been curious about the forest that they and Night had traveled to the outside of for moons, and now here they were getting the grand tour. Night would've been right alongside them, but he was too scared to be with Marshface, who was one of the largest and most fit cats left in the group they'd stumbled upon. They would've given anything to see Night's face after they left, though, when he finally realized that he'd volunteered to stay in the camp along with all of the rest of the cats. Sometimes he let his fear think for him instead of listening to reason, and Moon knew better than anyone that he lost a lot of opportunities because of it.

"Magpie," Marshface said suddenly, drawing Moon's attention despite whispering his words. The white cat trained their eyes on him, pricking their ears and stepping back carefully to give him space. He crouched down, his blue gaze fixed on the bird that pecked at the ground a couple of fox-lengths away, searching for food of its own. In the stillness that followed the cats' pause, Moon could hear the magpie's heartbeat as its scent filled their mouth. Marshface began to stalk the unsuspecting piece of prey, and Moon took note that rather than using the undergrowth to give him cover, he was sticking to shadows, keeping his brown pelt hidden there. He was also awkwardly careful not to step on any twigs or fallen leaves, like he wasn't used to having to worry about them. Moon quickly noticed that he was going to need help if he was going to catch this magpie, and they slunk quickly in a wide circle to the other bird. By the time they were opposite him, he had barely seemed to move.

Almost as soon as Moon had started moving forward, Marshface seemed to lose his patience, and he quickly began to race forward to close the distance between himself and the bird. Moon jumped up as soon as they saw him move, running in from the other direction. The bird noticed Marshface first, letting out an alarmed call and taking off in the opposite direction. Moon was ready, jumping up into the air with claws outstretched and plucking it out of the sky by its neck.

As they landed with the feathered prey under their paws, Marshface was getting up from his own unsuccessful leap at the bird. "Are you okay?" Moon asked in concern, their ears flattening back.

"I'm fine!" Marshface snapped, shaking his head. "I'm just not used to... this." He swept his tail in a wide arc, indicating the entire forest. "How are you so used to it, anyway? Didn't you live in the barren area outside of ThunderClan's borders?"

"ThunderClan..." Moon tasted the word on their tongue, barely acknowledging Marshface's question as they finally learned the official name of the group that they'd come to. They noticed that Marshface was looking at them strangely after a moment of being buried in their own thoughts, and they added, "Night and I recently moved there, though we were here with our group when we were younger. We move around a lot, and we used to be a part of a larger group, but we branched out on our own. Why aren't _you_ used to hunting in a place like this?" They meant no harm and were only genuinely curious, but their thoughtless words caused Marshface's gaze to harden.

Marshface stiffened at Moon's question, the fur on his shoulders beginning to bristle. "That's none of your business," he growled, snatching up the magpie to move it beneath a bush and scrape dirt over it. Moon watched him thoughtfully as he did so, taking in the way he was holding himself, but they didn't say a word to respond to him. "This way," he muttered when he was done hiding the piece of prey, his tail still lashing in irritation as he turned to keep walking farther away from the camp.

Moon followed, and the space between them was filled with a thick silence that settled on their pelts like raindrops. They continued along the path that Marshface was taking, his steps sometimes faltering, as though he was unfamiliar with the terrain, and once again the inkling of a thought crossed Moon's mind, but this time they said nothing. Soft light came through the branches of the trees above, lighting their pelts, and Moon's gaze swept over the dapples on the forest floor as they passed. As the lighting began to change color, gaining an orange-ish hue as the clouds that Moon could see beyond the trees were stained violet and pink, the trees began to thin out, leading onto a strip of land that was covered completely in grass.

The white cat thought it might be a simple gap that led from one part of the forest to the next, but Marshface stopped at the edge of the trees, dipping his head to scent at the base of one. They caught on then, when they noticed scent markers lining the area where the trees stopped and the grassy area began. From across the strip of barren landscape, they caught the scent of pines and firs, and noticed the shadows that flitted between the trees that stood so close together. The barest hint of pines clung to Marshface's pelt, too.

"Not all of us came from within these borders," Marshface mumbled after renewing a scent marker, sighing as he padded forward to stand beside Moon. They glanced at him and were surprised by the emotion they caught deep in his gaze, which was directed towards the pine forest. He looked wistful, longing. It only lasted for a moment before he shook his head, turning around to head back towards the camp. "Come on. It's getting late, we can finish the tour tomorrow."

Obediently, Moon padded after Marshface, once again lost in thought. As they trudged back to camp beneath the darkening sky, the silence between them was no longer so oppressive, as thought Marshface had eased the tension with his words. He even tried to let Moon carry their catch back to camp, but they had insisted that he take it, knowing that it would come across as a friendly gesture. As they entered the camp with the stars glittering on a background of night above their heads, Moon couldn't help but think that someday, perhaps soon, they could learn what had happened here, and who these cats who tried to be so intimidating truly were.

They found an empty nest beside Night's in a corner of the stone hollow away from everyone else, who were sleeping cozily in the well-made dens. Moon suspected that he had been the one to place them there, but they probably would've done the same. No matter how much they wanted to learn about these cats, they'd never want to intrude by taking a spot beside them in their dens. They settled down beside Night after moving their nest a bit closer, just enough to be able to rest their head on his shoulder. As they did so, they felt some of the tension there melting away beneath their chin. A smile crossed their muzzle before they drifted into the land of dreams, visions of shadows among pine trees dancing under their eyelids.

The next day, the sun's light as it painted the morning in yellows woke Night first, and in turn he woke Moon. "Good morning, Moon," he said with a smile as they lifted their head, blinking sleep from their eyes.

Moon grinned sleepily and rolled their eyes as they realized how Night had woken them, the same way he had since they were kits. They stood from the nest that they had slept in, stretching to relieve the tension in their shoulders, and as they did so their belly rumbled, reminding them that the thought of eating had left their mind after the tour last night. The magpie was probably gone by now, and even if it wasn't, they would rather leave it for the cats who were starving. "Do you want to go hunting?" they asked Night instead, thinking that they could find something out in the forest as they reached up with one paw to clean their face.

"You two!" Night jumped as another voice barked over his own as he started to reply, and both cats turned to look at the source of the voice. A very stern-looking tom was padding towards them, his gaze hard and accusing. "You can't just go making your own patrols! Just because you're outsiders doesn't mean you're exempt from our code while you're in our camp!"

"Nettleblaze, won't you stop?" A golden tabby-patched she-cat trailed after the ginger and white tom, smiling like she'd said something amusing. She nudged his shoulder gently, getting him to turn his eyes from the two bristled cats before him to look at her for a moment. His gaze softened as their eyes met, but it was only for a moment, and when he looked away again he huffed out a breath, seeming subdued.

"I'm sorry about him," the golden she-cat said apologetically, sweeping her tail towards the tom. "My brother can be a bit aggressive. He's always been that way, even before everything here happened. I'm Sunnystream, and this is Nettleblaze. We're former RiverClan warriors, but we live here now of course, with everyone else."

"RiverClan?" Moon quickly jumped on the term once Sunnystream had finished speaking. "Marshface said something about ThunderClan - is there more than one of those? What is it really like here?" Their voice was carefully measured, and from the corner of their eye they saw Night give them a glance that seemed baffled. Of course he had no idea what they were talking about.

Sunnystream hesitated for a moment before a polite smile appeared on her face. "Seedspots told us to finish your tour around the territory." Moon felt a flicker of irritation at the way she changed the subject, but perhaps she wasn't allowed to talk about it or it was too hard for her to speak of. "We can hunt on the way," she added, glancing at Nettleblaze with a sly expression. The tom's stomach rumbled as if on cue, and he bristled, looking almost offended, but before he could respond Sunnystream was trotting away, tail held high.

"Sisters." It was all Nettleblaze said, snorting as he padded after her.

Moon chuckled softly as they caught the fondness with which he'd looked after her, gently nudging Night's shoulder with a fondness of their own. "C'mon, you can't skip out today," they purred, bouncing away on light paws. Night growled playfully in response, bounding after the slight cat with a small smile on his face.

"This is the camp, of course!" Sunnystream chirped as the two rogues caught up, gesturing towards the entrance to the stone hollow. She began moving again right away, but continued to talk, saying, "We're going to head towards the moors today, and we can take you to see the lake if you want!" She exchanged a glance with Nettleblaze as 'the lake' rolled out of her mouth, and for a moment they shared a similar look of sadness. Moon, ever observant, caught this look, but they held their tongue.

They continued on for a ways, Sunnystream listing off different landmarks as they passed by them, Nettleblaze making snide remarks whenever he could get a word in edgewise. They stopped for a while to catch prey and eat, and then they were off again, Sunnystream once again bouncing into the lead. They finally began to slow as they reached a stream, and the golden and white she-cat paused, sniffing around the edge of the stream. She seemed to catch herself, raising her head and exchanging another look with Nettleblaze. "This is technically where the moors begin for us," she explained in her bright and chirpy tone, as though nothing had happened, when she turned back to Night and Moon. "The other territory on the other side of the stream has gone to rogues, if you'll excuse the expression." She gave a quick nod and started moving downstream, saying, "Let's keep going! The lake is this way."

"She's really enthusiastic," Night noted as she and her brother pulled ahead by about a fox-length. "Her brother's intimidating, though." He shivered as his eyes came to rest on Nettleblaze.

"They both seem nice," Moon mused, thinking of how similarly they were acting to how Marshface had the day before.

"Whatever you say," Night snorted, tail-tip flicking. "I still think they can probably eat us in one bite." He paused, then added, "Well, I'm exaggerating. But they're still dangerous."

"So are we!" Moon pointed out, extending their claws to demonstrate. "All cats have fangs and claws for a reason, Night. I get the feeling that we won't have to use them here, though, at least not with these cats." They felt slightly discouraged by the fact that Night was still so distrusting of these cats, but perhaps he truly couldn't see that they didn't want to fight.

"We can hear you, you know!" Nettleblaze called from in front of them, causing even Moon to jump. "You're not very quiet."

"We're almost at the lake," Sunnystream added with a laugh. "I promise not to push either of you in!"

"I don't," Nettleblaze interjected, causing Sunnystream and Moon both to laugh, while Night's eyes widened with fear. "I'm just kidding," Nettleblaze said gruffly to Night, rolling his eyes as he spotted the look on his face.

"Here we are!" Sunnystream suddenly squealed with excitement, rushing forward to splash into the waves that lapped gently at the pebbles on the shore, exposed beyond the trees as they made way for the lake. She looked like a kit out in the water, and her brother, though more composed, showed the first sign of delight that Moon had noticed from him as he waded out into the water, stopping when it reached his belly and tilting his head up to the sky with closed eyes. Moon and Night stood back by the trees for a few moments until Sunnystream finally seemed to notice that they weren't in the water as well. She stopped, looking up at them, then waded back towards shore. She was still standing in the water when she beckoned them towards her with her tail.

Night came forward cautiously, while Moon walked forward, sitting down in front of the she-cat, who had suddenly gained a serious demeanor. Once Night had joined Moon, Sunnystream began to speak, and right away her voice sounded strained. "Moon, I know that you want to know more about us." Moon leaned forward at her words, their eyes wide and hopeful. "Unfortunately, I can't tell you what you want to know." Their hopes immediately came crashing down, crushed as soon as they'd risen, and they sat back, disappointed. Nettleblaze seemed to realize that something was going on, and he came to stand behind his sister, glancing between the two rogues. "At least, I can't tell you right now. Right now, it's too soon." A wry smile twisted Sunnystream's face. "If you really want to know - if you stay here long enough - then I'm sure someone will eventually tell you what happened, but right now, we can't. We just can't. It's too hard for us, even if some cats would claw your fur off for asking instead of admitting it." She moved closer to her brother, leaning on his shoulder and closing her eyes. "So please, both of you - respect that. Give us time, and you might know what you want to know, but we're not here to tell you our story. We're here to survive, and you're here to help us if you were telling the truth."

Moon was mildly disappointed, but they knew Sunnystream was right. It wasn't truly their place to ask about any of this. Their eyes followed Sunnystream and Nettleblaze as they walked out of the lake, shaking their fur out when they were a good length away from Night and Moon. Together, the four made it back to camp with Sunnystream's words heavy in Moon's mind. It made them begin to wonder as they thought about it. After all, they liked to think themself a good cat, but how could they say that when they'd pried into business that they had no right to pry into? Were they really there to help after all?

They arrived back at camp with a heavy heart and a pigeon in their jaws, caught on the way back. The whole touring patrol had managed to catch a piece of prey each, and the others swarmed on them when they returned. Moon opted to leave the prey to those who were hungry, going back to lay in their nest to think. Night silently joined them a moment later, laying his tail over their back. They were glad for his presence as they turned over their questions in their head, along with how their stomach could be so hollow when they didn't feel like they'd ever eat again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mostly a filler chapter with a little bit of background info. Reminder that for extra content for this fic, follow @ask-writteninlight on tumblr!

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the first chapter! I already have up to chapter five finished, and I'll be queuing up the chapters for the next few weeks so there will be regular updates. 
> 
> Anyway, if you guys want more content (character references, asking the characters, and other extra content) I have a blog up for this fanfic [here!](http://ask-writteninlight.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Every review is appreciated!


End file.
